No, no and no

We are firmly in the ‘no’ phase of life with Max. No you can’t grab that, no you can’t touch this. No, no, no. I sometimes feel like it is one of the only words I say these days and am I surprised when Max learnt to say ‘no’ long before he learnt to say ‘yes’? No.

I am often reminded of a quote I once heard:

So how do we say yes more, but still teach discipline and boundaries, and if the kids are older, have them still obey and honour you?

I guess it comes down to reasoning. ‘Can I watch TV?’ and their room needs to be cleaned, so your first instinct would be no. BUT, what I need to work on is saying something like ‘Yes, you can watch that, just as soon as you’ve tidied your toys’. You can do have this thing or do that thing, as long as everything else is done or they’ve helped to deserve a treat, for example.

Obviously, sometimes you need to say no – touching the hot oven for example (or when they demand ice-cream and there simply isn’t any in the house)!

How easy do you find it to say yes with your kids??